ABSTRACT
Free GABA levels were measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 74 neurological patients suffering from cerebral cysticercosis (n = 9), Parkinson's disease (n = 5), multiple sclerosis (n = 6), epilepsy (n = 24), meningeal tuberculosis (n = 6), viral encephalitis (n = 3), cerebrovascular disease (n = 8) and several kinds of dystonia (n = 5). A statistical significant four-fold elevation in free GABA levels was found in patients with cerebral cysticercosis. A non statistical significant two-fold increase in free GABA levels was also encountered in the CSF of patients affected by cerebrovascular disease and viral encephalitis. No changes in CSF free GABA levels were found in patients suffering from any of the other disorders. It is suggested that free GABA levels may be elevated in the CSF of patients suffering from neurological diseases which course with inflammation and tissular necrosis such as cerebral cysticercosis. Much work is needed however to establishd whether CSF free GABA levels can be used as a diagnostic tool in at least some type of these patients.
ABSTRACT
A survey of the files of the Department of Neuropathology at the Mexican Neurological Institute, disclosed a total of 100 biopsies from 85 patients, 47 of whom females, with the histological diagnosis of Schwannoma. The survey comprised a period between July 1985 and June 1990. Schwannomas accounted for 4.08 per cent of 2,447 biopsies during that period. The age range was from 15 to 69 years with and average of 37.6 years. In 64 cases the tumors were localized intracranially, and in 18 within the spinal canal. The eighth never was the origin in 57 cases, the fifth in two, and the seventh in one; in four other cases the origin could not be ascertained. The intraspinal tumors were cervical in seven cases thoracic in nine, and lumbosacral in two. The most common clinical findings in 52 cases were decreased audition, increased intracranial pressure in 20, cerebellar involvement in 17, trigeminal in 16, facial paresis in 16, oculomotor disorder in six and motor neurone impairment in five.